The embodiments described herein relate generally to electrical power distribution systems and, more particularly, to techniques for accelerated assessment of operational uncertainties in electrical power distribution systems.
Known electric power grids typically include power generation plants, transmission and distribution lines, transformers, and other devices that facilitate electric power transmission, and power delivery. After electric power is generated in the generating plants, it is transmitted for extended distances through the high voltage transmission lines to sub-transmission/distribution substations. From the substations, power is then transmitted through a feeder to an end customer through an electrical power distribution system.
Most known electrical power distribution systems include a plurality of feeders coupled to the substation transformer. The electrical power distribution systems may also include at least one capacitor bank, at least one voltage regulator, and at least one distributed generation (DG) device, e.g., a diesel generator and a photovoltaic source. The feeder is divided into smaller units via bus-bars, disconnect switches, reclosers, sectionalizers, and fuses, wherein such smaller units are referred to as segments. Each segment may have any number of DG devices coupled thereto.
The distribution networks now often include multiple power sources due to an increase in DG. The recent proliferation of wind and solar power sources, for example, has added significant complexity to the management of electrical power distribution systems. Not only do these generators represent power sources within the distribution network, but generators such as wind and solar farms represent a less predictable source of power. Their outputs change with weather patterns, a variable controlled by nature. This variability adds a complexity to analyzing electrical power distribution systems.
Known mathematical modeling techniques are typically used to model and analyze electrical circuits. As circuits get larger and more complex, modeling analysis of electrical circuits becomes significantly more complex as well. In modeling electrical power distribution systems with DG, full-model analysis can become computationally intensive and infeasible to adequately support the decision-making needs of system operations managers.